One of the outstanding additions to technology over the last few years has been the development of the practical ball valve. Although the concept of a ball valve goes back to ancient times, it has only become a practical device since the development of polymer materials for seals that are capable of resisting the action of the ball and the liquids contained in the system. Because of the necessity of good sealing against the ball surface, such valves have necessarily been fairly expensive and do not easily adapt themselves to use in domestic water systems and the like where price is a limiting factor. Attempts in the past to develop an inexpensive ball valve for such purposes have been less than successful, mainly because of the cost of manufacture. These and other difficulties experienced with the prior art devices have been obviated in a novel manner by the present invention.
It is, therefore, an outstanding object of the invention to provide a ball valve which can be manufactured inexpensively on conventional machinery and with a minimum of machining.
Another object of this invention is the provision of a ball valve in which the housing is formed around the ball and it seals by the use of a standard press.
A further object of the present invention is the provision of a ball valve in which the housing is of unitary construction, whereby the possibility of leakage is unlikely.
It is another object of the instant invention to provide a ball valve which is simple in construction, which is inexpensive to manufacture, and which is capable of a long life of useful service with a minimum of maintenance.
A still further object of the invention is the provision of a ball valve for domestic use, which valve can be readily inserted in a copper tube system by a simple soldering process.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a ball valve which is resistant to damage from excessive heat to permit soldering close to the valve.
With these and other objects in view, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the invention resides in the combination of parts set forth in the specification and covered by the claims appended hereto.